1. "Street Hassle"
Album:
Street Hassle (1978) As soon as the song starts, you know something's different. There are no guitars. No percussion. Just a tiny string section, playing the most inspired tune Lou Reed ever wrote. "Street Hassle" is an epic poem delivered by New York's greatest poet. In the first section, "Waltzing Matilda," Lou relates an explicit sexual encounter between a muscle-bound gigolo and a paying customer. The second section, "Street Hassle," is one side of a vulgar conversation about disposing of a dead body. The third section, "Slipaway," is an emotional lament for lost love. This is Lou Reed's love letter to New York City. And he isn't describing the buildings or the parks or the hustle and bustle - he's wallowing in the filth and sadness and finding something to grab onto. A scene of prostitution becomes a scene of true love, of passion, of a perfect moment. A conversation about a drug overdose becomes a personal apology, an explanation for being. Lou Reed's New York isn't perfect. Beauty isn't waiting around ever corner - life is. And life often isn't beautiful. For his entire career, Lou Reed has been trying to find beauty in everyday life. "Satellite of Love" is about watching TV and coming to terms with a cheating girlfriend. "Sweet Jane" is about staying positive while those around you are trying to bring you down. His
New York album is about struggling to make peace with an unforgiving city. His
Magic and Loss album is about finding truth when it seems like there's none to find.
Metal Machine Music, as unlistenable and distancing as it is, is about finding something worthwhile in an artless medium. "Street Hassle" is blindingly powerful. There's something indescribable about it - a quality that can only be glimpsed in its pauses, in the slurred vocals and impolite words. It's the only apology Lou will ever need to give. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkG9BKgDvNI